Washington is believed to be footing an estimated $900 million a day, since the beginning of the the war on Iran, cumulating to a total cost of $3.7 billion in the first 100 hours, a new research has suggested.
The spending is largely driven by the huge expenditure on munitions, according to research by the Washington-based think tank, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Al Jazeera reported today.
The war has entered its seventh day on Friday, and the cost associated has already turned colossal, as the US has been pounding Iran with advanced weapons and stealth bombers.
Why should Trump be concerned?
Mark Cancian and Chris Park, researchers at CSIS, have found that only a small share of the estimated $3.7 billion cost has been budgeted. They estimate that only $891.4 million each day has already been budgeted, while most of the costs — around $3.5 billion — has been not.
Also Read: Iran War May Stretch Into September Despite Trump's Four-Week Timeline
The equation will soon translate into the Pentagon having to request more funding to cover the unbudgeted cost, the researchers added.
“This will likely be a political challenge for the Trump administration,” the researchers said, “This will provide a focal point for the opposition to the war.”
US citizens, are already battling a rising cost of living and inflation. Add to that the rising gas and fuel prices, in the wake of the war, and it will translate into further diminishing support among US citizens for war, the researchers said.
“It will also divide Trump's America First' base, which he promised in his presidential campaigns to not enter 'foreign wars',” they said, noting that their analysis drew on the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) as the US Department of Defence has released limited specifics on operations.
Meanwhile, United States Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that the bombardment on Iran was “about to surge dramatically” entailing “more fighter squadrons…more defensive capabilities” and “more bomber pulses more frequently”
The report asserts that the surge in bombardments will need additional funds at some point. “Because the level of budget cuts needed to fund this conflict internally would likely be politically and operationally difficult.”
“The political challenge for the administration will be that any funding action will become a focal point for opposition to the war,” it said.
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